Curbing puppy’s chewing requires supervision, guidance

Dear Cathy: We’ve always had multiple dogs and now own a black lab who is 9 months old. She is the easiest puppy in the world to potty train, but I have never had a dog chew so much. We have toys and chewies all over the floor and in a toy box, and yet I have lost three pairs of shoes, Christmas decorations, gloves, plants and baskets.

I don’t want to have to crate her again. She is with our 11-year-old dog during the day on the main level of the house. Do you have any ideas on how to stop this? — Jeri, Oshkosh, Wisconsin

Dear Jeri: Your girl will be a puppy until she is 18 months to 2 years old, and puppies like to chew. Labs are easy to train, though.

Reduce her access to things she can chew. Be vigilant about keeping closets closed, shoes put away, and doors shut to rooms when you can’t be present to supervise her. She can’t learn right from wrong when you are not there to tell her, so she develops the chewing habit when you’re not around.

When you are away from home, keep her in a pet-proofed room so she doesn’t have access to things she can chew. Leave her with things she is allowed to chew.

When you are home, make sure there are things around that she can chew, but shouldn’t, and train her to “drop it” or “leave it” if she goes after one. For example, if she picks up a shoe, tell her to “drop it” and hold out a treat so she will. When she drops it, give her a reward word like “bingo” to let her know she did what you asked, followed by the treat. Pick up the shoe and put it back to its original location. If she wanders over to it again, tell her to “leave it,” followed by the reward word and treat again.

Put one of the toys she can chew in front of her along with a treat. It won’t take long for her to learn what she is allowed to chew and not chew.

Eventually she will outgrow this behavior with proper supervision and guidance from you.